Easy Baked Risotto with Orange and Vanilla Bean

Author: Jerry James Stone

Written: December 23, 2012

I think everyone should know the basics of making risotto. Yes, the dish has a bad rep. You've heard that it's fussy, hard to make, stays out late and dated Paris Hilton. But really, risotto is anything but. Not only is it easy to prepare, but it is so hearty and versatile that every cook should know how to make it the traditional way. That said, we are going to cheat.

Instructions

1

Using a French oven, or something similar, add 1 cup of Arborio rice, 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk, 1 cup of regular milk, 2 oranges worth of juice and zest, 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 vanilla bean. You could substitute ingredients like vanilla extract for the vanilla bean but you don't want to be wrong, do you? No, seriously, you can. I just find there is a lot more texture in the flavor of the bean.

2

3

Once everything is mixed together, you are going to want to bake it in the oven, covered, at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes. So go watch an episode of Archer on Netflix while it bakes and makes your house smell good enough to eat. Do not overcook it, it will dry out and no one wants that.

4

Now we are going to poach the cranberries. Yum! And it is so simple. Bring 1/2 cup of honey to a boil in a small sauce pan over a medium heat. Now, unlike the baked risotto you must keep an eye on this. Boiling honey goes from bubbly to volcanic without a moments notice.

5

Once the whole pan is boiling, carefully add in 1/2 cup of cranberries. This is so much fun to do because they explode in the process. And they are wicked tasty. I love honey-poached cranberries on toast, pancakes, people. There isn't much I am not willing to eat them off of. Swirl them around for about a minute until they begin to pop and then remove them from the heat.

6

When that risotto is done baking, serve it up with some of the cranberry sauce.

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Ingredients

1cup Arborio rice

1½ cups coconut milk

1cup milk

2oranges, juiced and zested

1vanilla bean

¼cup sugar

½cup honey

½cup Fresh cranberries

Directions

1

Using a French oven, or something similar, add 1 cup of Arborio rice, 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk, 1 cup of regular milk, 2 oranges worth of juice and zest, 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 vanilla bean. You could substitute ingredients like vanilla extract for the vanilla bean but you don't want to be wrong, do you? No, seriously, you can. I just find there is a lot more texture in the flavor of the bean.

2

3

Once everything is mixed together, you are going to want to bake it in the oven, covered, at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes. So go watch an episode of Archer on Netflix while it bakes and makes your house smell good enough to eat. Do not overcook it, it will dry out and no one wants that.

4

Now we are going to poach the cranberries. Yum! And it is so simple. Bring 1/2 cup of honey to a boil in a small sauce pan over a medium heat. Now, unlike the baked risotto you must keep an eye on this. Boiling honey goes from bubbly to volcanic without a moments notice.

5

Once the whole pan is boiling, carefully add in 1/2 cup of cranberries. This is so much fun to do because they explode in the process. And they are wicked tasty. I love honey-poached cranberries on toast, pancakes, people. There isn't much I am not willing to eat them off of. Swirl them around for about a minute until they begin to pop and then remove them from the heat.

6

When that risotto is done baking, serve it up with some of the cranberry sauce.